Geoffrey Update:
Classic pictures from last year :)
Geoffrey's favorite YouTube videos
If you would like to drop us a note (or recommend video for Geoffrey's video page) please write to eliza.porter@gmail.com
12/30/07: Sleeping is cute. Mom came home and found the babies asleep on Poppa's lap and convinced Poppa that it would be really cute if he pretended to be asleep too. The picture doesn't show how much they were both crying right before they fell asleep.
12/25/07: Well, not really, but we'll pretend that is when we put these up :) Geoffrey got to meet his cousin Ari for Christmas. He didn't like her at all. He would take away anything that she looked like she was thinking about playing with and push her off of chairs. After two days of sitting in time out he got over that and Christmas Day was actual playing with her. Geoffrey really liked playing soccer with his basketball in the hallway at Grandma's house. It's kind of like bumper bowling, no matter what you do the ball goes the right direction.
12/12/07: Happy 6 months to Margot. We just got back from a trip to Boca Raton without Phillip! It was so fun but I'm glad to be back. I never realized how much he does and it's A LOT. All the little things like getting a towel when the baby spits up or disciplining Geoff while I console the baby. All the things he does to help make all the difference. We got the new signing time series and it's like Christmas already. The new series has a lot of great new vocab and conversation. Geoff is already starting to use better greetings after just a few times. I love this series. It also reinforces some words he already knew. We're almost ready to send off our Christmas packages so we're ready to sit back and enjoy the season.
Geoff has a new phrase that is so cute. I like to nuzzle the baby and say "Hi Princess" now Geoff does too. His obviously doesn't quite sound like that, but it's suprising how close it is since it's not something we've "worked on." Margot is starting to sign milk and mom incidentally. Phillip says also that she said "ma ma mam" the other day when she was crying.
12/1/07: Welcome to December! Margot is on the move and Geoffrey has a nice clean haircut. Life is going well, if very exciting. We're getting ready for the holidays and for Geoff to start school soon. Margot is starting to nod her head and crawl. It's so cute to see her get more and more involved in things. We saw a really cool train set up at the library recently. Geoff has a "Reading Rainbow" DVD with crash testing of cars, so that's been fun vocabulary to learn. Geoff is such a great kid. I love being his mom and experiencing life with and for him.
11/12/07: So it's been a long time, but just look how cute the kids are! Marching Band season is over so we get to see more of Phillip. We had so much fun going to the events and being with the band. We saw a few half time shows, one competition and 2 parades. Note: Margot has a matching dimple. What a cuttie! Geoffrey had a lot of fun posing for pictures. He's finally starting to pose for pictures rather than running at me and trying to look through the view finder.
10/26/07: We had a sign language group at the Library today. It was good to get the families together and share some sign language with people in the community. Geoff got to march in the school parade yesterday and he just wants to wear his uniform constantly. I can't believe how cute he is.
A child's Prayer. There are so many awesome things that we can enjoy with Geoff because of the sign language we have learned. We can reason with him and explain a series of events. We can ask him questions. We can teach him. The most important thing about the sign Geoff has learned is that it allows him to express what he wants. The communication is 2 way. Frequently we help him to pray, signing a phrase at a time. Today I saw the most beautiful thing that makes it all worthwhile. I saw Geoff sitting in a chair, spontaneously signing a prayer. Sometimes it bothers me that he isn't understood by those who haven't learned sign. But Geoff has language. He has a language and that's beautiful.
10/22/07: What a Week... On Monday Geoff lost a hearing aid while we were out at a play group. It could be at the store or in the grass, or somewhere. We're not sure where it got lost in the 1 hour between when I last saw it and when I noticed it was gone. Then on Friday, his other ear stopped working. Today I got the non functioning one turned in for repair. We still don't know what is going to happen about the lost one. But tonight we had an awesome night. The sister missionaries that live near us know sign. They came over for dinner and then we signed some songs, learned some vocabulary and did some fingerspelling games. Geoff warmed up to them so fast. He totally skipped the shy phase and went straight to the show off phase. By the time they had to go he was signing 10-15 sign stories to them and it was awesome. Sometimes it's really frustrating that he can't hear. Many times it's an amazing thing to see him overcome these huge obstacles in his life. Always it's a joy to watch him communicate. Even when it's something as simple as understanding that he is talking about basketball (because he almost always is...) it's such a gift for people to understand him. Thank you!
10/3/07: GO GATORS!!! We got to go see the Gator Basketball team play today. It was just a pickup game, but it was in the practice facility (which is beautiful) and it was the Gators. They have a great display of Final Four and National Championship trophies in the main entrance. I pointed out to Eliza that I played in the band for every single team represented there. 1994 was my first year, 2000 was the high point of my Gator Band career, and I was able to sub for a couple of games during the 2006 and 2007 seasons. We watched the team play for about 30 minutes and then we got to go down onto the court and the kids got to play with the team. It was awesome. The players did a great job of being personable and the kids loved playing with them. (I may have geeked out a little as well) Geoffrey impressed everyone with his ball handling skills. For not even being three yet, he's doing pretty good, he can usually dribble three or four times before he loses it. He also showed off his shooting form. Check out the follow through on his shot. (that's Nick Calathes under the basket) So, Geoffrey had a great time, Daddy had a great time, Mommy and Margot had a good time. *Joakim Noah voice* He said that?!?!
09/30/07: We had a very, Very, VERY busy weekend. Eliza attended a symposium on early childhood hearing loss with the children and a very helpful grandma. After the symposium we visited a park in St. Augustine where Geoff got to ride the carosel 3x! He loves to read and tonight when we got home, he fell asleep reading his "Curious George ABC's." Yep, we love this little guy.
Geoffrey loves to show Margot everything. As I teach her signs, he'll also ask her, "do you want milk?" and he'll hold her little hands to her head and chin to help her sign mom and dad. My favorite is when he folds holds her hands to sing "roll your arms" with slow and fast variations! Life is good in the Porter house.
9/9/07: Geoff loves Margot. When we put Geoff to bed we tell him we love him and sign it after he's taken off his ears. Tonight, after a bible story and prayer, Geoff lead us all to Margot's bead. He patted to bed to tell me to put her down. Then he pulled a blanket over her and signed "Love You." Sometimes I just can't believe what a sweet little boy we have. Life is good, and full of tender moments. It's getting easier to manage 2 children. Margot is really starting to gurgle and smile. It's great.
09/02/07: Margot got blessed today in the church meeting. She was adorable and didn't cry at all. Then she slept for sunday school in Phillip's arms. I may have mentioned it but she does have a sign name. We had made up a sign name for her, but Geoff has given her a different one and it's even better. Her sign name is "Happy." Geoff has called her that since about week one. At first I thought he was just confussed. He would sign "Happy" and laugh when she cried in the car seat. But he just kept calling her "happy." So I finally thought, "that's his name for her." Today we tested it out by having one of his aunties ask him "Where Happy?" He looked around at the smiling people and then seeing Margot behind him pointed with an enthusiastic "Right There!" So, Happy it is.